CALLING
ON CONGRESS AND THE ADMINISTRATION TO SUPPORT RESIDENTIAL/COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
ASSESSED CLEAN ENERGY (PACE) PROGRAMS

WHEREAS, utility bills represent a major part
of operating costs for home and business owners; and

WHEREAS, the building sector accounts for 39
percent of the nation’s energy use, 72 percent of its electricity use, one
third of all global greenhouse gas emissions and represents the single largest,
most accessible opportunity for deep emission cuts in the United States; and

WHEREAS, investing in cost-effective energy
efficiency and renewable energy improvements to homes and businesses can save
energy, cut utility bills up to $140 billion per year, create thousands of
local jobs, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and dramatically reduce greenhouse
gas emissions; and

WHEREAS, Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE)
financing programs are an innovative local government solution to help property
owners finance energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements – such as
energy efficient boilers, upgraded insulation, new windows, solar
installations, etc. – to their homes and businesses; and

WHEREAS, the PACE program removes many of the
barriers of energy efficiency and renewable energy retrofits that otherwise exist
for residential homeowners and businesses, particularly the high upfront cost
of making such an investment and the long-term ability to reap the benefits of
cost savings; and

WHEREAS, 28 states plus the District of
Columbia have provided local governments with the authority to develop PACE
programs; and

WHEREAS, dozens of local governments
throughout the country have already launched or are in the process of launching
PACE programs to fund energy improvements on commercial buildings; and

WHEREAS, locally-administered PACE programs
are an exercise of the traditional authority of local governments to utilize
the tax code for public benefit; and

WHEREAS, PACE programs help local governments
meet a core obligation to their citizens to maintain housing stock and improve
housing opportunities for all citizens; and

WHEREAS, the PACE program is an achievement of
the intergovernmental partnership to realize national policy goals, namely,
reducing energy consumption, that will positively impact the fiscal conditions
of every level of government; and

WHEREAS, despite PACE’s great promise, the
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency on July 6, 2010 issued statements that immediately forced existing
residential PACE programs to halt operations and froze the development of
dozens of PACE programs nationwide; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. District Court in Oakland,
California on January 20, 2012 ruled that FHFA’s actions improperly bypassed
the rulemaking process and ordered the agency to undertake a formal
rulemakingprocess; and

WHEREAS, FHFA has closed comments on the
rulemaking process but has not yet promulgated a new rule on this issue,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that
The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) urges Congress to adopt legislation that
clearly reaffirms the right of state and local governments to exercise liens or
assess special taxes or other property obligations to protect and improve
housing stock for the public good, including energy efficiency improvements, by
directing federal regulators to enforce underwriting standards that are
consistent with guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Energy for PACE
financing programs or by implementing any other appropriate measure.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of
Mayors encourages mayors to consider implementing commercial PACE programs,
which are unaffected by FHFA’s actions and provide owners of commercial
buildings with a new tool for financing energy efficiency improvements and
realizing substantial energy savings.